George Stavropoulos was known for his evening wear and his signature looks often involved draping and the use of multiple layers of silk done on a bias cut. He focused on cut and fabric to convey the beauty of each piece. It was said that his gowns 'seemed to float on air'. He launched his label in 1960 and soon was dressing women like Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, Barbra Streisand and Maria Callas. The majority of his gowns are almost entirely made by hand and to couture standards. By the early 1980s one of his evening dresses started at a cost of around $8500USD and they went up in cost from there. To put that in modern terms , that would be about $26,000USD now. Which means that when you buy a vintage Stavropoulos gown you are getting incredible value.

This dress is drop dead gorgeous with its wonderful pastel floral print in a gorgeous palette of light turquoises mixed with soft pinks, greens and lavenders. The print is screened over the entire dress and it is stunning to see in person. The silk chiffon is feather light and I love the airy feeling that this creates. This lightness has been achieved by layering separate layers made up of many yards of high end silk chiffon. This is a fabric that is notoriously difficult to work with and it shows just what a genius he was by the way that he was able to make it flow and sit so beautifully.  The majority of work is all done by hand and it would have taken many, many  hours of work to create this dress in this way. The silk is fully cut on the bias so that once you slip it on it simply drapes into place and swirls around you. The slightest bit of movement on your part or bit of air around you will cause it to move. The neckline is beautiful. It has a draped cape effect that follows all the way around the entire neckline. It falls softly over the shoulders and then drapes down the back and across the front. The neckline is softly scooped at the front and at the back it scoops lower for an expanse of skin to show. The waist is brought in a bit under the cape for shaping and then the skirt falls from there to flow and skim over the hips. As it nears the hem it widens out considerably and I love how the hem is cut so that it is slightly shorter at the centre and then on each side it is longer. The fabric is also set fuller at the two sides so you get a lovely sense of draping down each side. This is a dress that really comes to life when you move. It is very beautiful. Excellent condition

Fully lined in turquoise silk chiffon. The inner skirt has two layers of silk chiffon under the top printed layer to make up the lining. It closes with a hand set, painted metal zipper. The inner seams are finished by hand to couture standards. There is one small repair near the hem that gets lost in the many yards of fabric. Please see the shot after the label shot. The bias cut should allow it to fit a range of sizes.

Bust: to 18.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 15" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips at Inner lining: to 22" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 59" from top of shoulder to shortest part of hem and to approx 65" to longest parts of the side hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3591

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.